


Shine Bright (like a diamond)

by IAmANonnieMouse



Series: Cards 'Verse [2]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cards, Cards 'Verse, F/F, playing cards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:07:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28573482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmANonnieMouse/pseuds/IAmANonnieMouse
Summary: She takes Ariadne's hands in hers. "Let me dance with you,ma perle.Let me show them all how much you shine."
Relationships: Ariadne/Mal Cobb
Series: Cards 'Verse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2095608
Comments: 16
Kudos: 16
Collections: Cards 'Verse, ImPROMPTu Drabblery





	Shine Bright (like a diamond)

**Author's Note:**

> Set in the same 'verse as [Crown Me a Fool](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28438074)! The prompt was dancing, and the word count was 250 but word counts are more like guidelines anyway, right???

Ariadne sees her during one of the routine diplomatic dinners her Court begrudgingly participates in. The Queen of Hearts is a spot of warmth in the Diamond Court which, for all its dazzling brightness, is as cold as the silver and gold adorning its walls.

Ariadne is seated at the farthest end of the banquet hall, just one step in from the door. She isn't supposed to be here. Not really. Her mother is a Seven, her father a lowly Five, and yet somehow — _somehow_ — she was born a Nine.

But as the other High Ranks allowed into the Diamond banquet hall like to remind her, a strong heritage is worth its weight in gold.

After the food comes music. Ariadne leans against a gold-covered wall and watches everyone dance. The Queen of Hearts drifts through the room, her crown a spot of red in the diamond-encrusted crowd. Ariadne looks away for one second, to check her watch and note the time, and when she looks up again, the Queen is gone.

Ariadne scans the crowds, leaning away from the wall. It's silly, maybe. Completely irrational. But she wants to see more of the Queen. She _needs_ to.

A body leans against the wall at her side, and an unfamiliar voice says, "Do you dance?"

Ariadne turns and stares. "Your Highness," she says.

The Queen of Hearts smiles. "Do you? Dance?"

Ariadne eventually remembers to breathe. "There are plenty of people here of higher rank than me," she says, nodding at the dance floor. "With bigger trust funds, too."

"Perhaps," the Queen of Hearts says. "But they don't shine as brightly as you." She takes Ariadne's hands in hers. "Let me dance with you, _ma perle._ Let me show them all how much you shine."

It's almost terrifying, how much this Queen captures Ariadne's attention. But she nods, and she follows the Queen across the hall. She ignores the angry glares from the other Diamonds and smiles when the Queen's hand settles on her hip.

And then, they dance, and dance, and _dance._


End file.
